The Office of the Solicitor General at the Department of Justice recently filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the United States in OWASSO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. I-011 v. FALVO, No. 00-1073. The Office of the Solicitor General submitted the brief as amicus curiae, supporting the petitioners (the Owasso School District). The issue before the Court in this case is whether allowing students to grade each other's homework and tests as their teacher goes over the correct answers aloud in class violates the prohibition in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, against the release, without parental consent, of students' "education records." The brief sets forth the position of the United States on this issue.

The Court is expected to rule on this case by June 2002. Because the Court may address the application of FERPA to student work more broadly beyond the education practice at issue in the case, the Department of Education will review the Court's ruling before determining whether further guidance or regulations are needed.